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It should perhaps come as no surprise that Steven Spielberg, a master of delivering awe-inspiring, cinematic wonder, saw the potential of Star Wars before anybody else. At a screening of an early cut Lucas hosted for his filmmaking friends, Spielberg was one of the few who actually liked the film. He was so confident in Star Wars that he was willing to put his money where his mouth is, giving his bank account a nice boost in the process.
Steven Spielberg & George Lucas Made a Bet Over Star Wars
Coincidentally, Spielberg and Lucas had dueling sci-fi films releasing in 1977. While the latter was toiling away on Star Wars, the former was working on Close Encounters of the Third Kind, his directorial follow-up to his record-breaking blockbuster Jaws. Lucas was convinced that Close Encounters was going to be an even bigger hit, so he decided to make a friendly wager with Spielberg. In an interview with Turner Classic Movies (via Business Insider), Spielberg recalled the time Lucas visited the Close Encounters set and was very impressed by what he saw. Lucas felt Star Wars had no chance against Close Encounters at the box office.
“He said, ‘All right, I’ll tell you what. I’ll trade some points with you. You want to trade some points?’” Spielberg said. “‘I’ll give you 2.5% of Star Wars if you give me 2.5% of Close Encounters.’ So I said, ‘Sure, I’ll gamble with that. Great.’” Close Encounters proved to be a massive hit in its own right, bringing in $306.8 million worldwide (unadjusted for inflation), but it was no match for Star Wars, which ended up breaking Jaws‘ all-time record and became the highest-grossing film in history. In its original theatrical run, Star Wars made $307.2 million just at the domestic box office.
